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The Keyholders (Party)
Overview The Keyholders are a party of adventurers at the frontier of the new world in 1758 DE. Founded as an alliance of convenience for the purpose of safety on the long journey to the frontier, the group fought together against a number of threats. Activities Act 1: Strahd Zander Foambeard, Reyfina, Jocelyn Keyra and Xiula Noheart bartered for passage to the New World on a wagon train, however as they crossed through the Royaume they entered a strange mystical realm surrounded by a thick fog. They had strayed into the land of Borovia, the home of Count Strahd. Working together with the help of the vampire hunter known as Rudolph "Rictavio" van Richten, they soon made allies of the wereravens and the local people, eventually overthrowing the regime. Along the way, they made allies with the paladins Lothar Von Hasselton and Sir Palamedes, as well as the thief Vyr Vandalous. After freeing the land from the curse by slaying Strahd the group parted ways with Xiula, who chose not to continue the journey after finding another calling. They travelled onward, to the port town that would let them reach the New World. Act 2: Keystone The party met a young officer of the Commonwealth by the name of Sylvia Reasenberg, who was boarding the same ship as they to the New World, the Misty Mermaid. Although Jocelyn realised something was off about the young woman, she did not raise any complaints as they teamed up to stop a bar fight. In the morning, the party set sail on the Misty Mermaid to the New World, however it was not long before an attack of Sahuagin and a Pleiosaurus caused the ship to run aground, shattering and killing the crew and leaving the party stranded. Waking up on the shore, the party chose to head towards a large Mistontli temple to get a view of the area. Along the way, they were ambushed by the local wildlife such as Velociraptors, and had to flee into the rainforest for protection. They eventually found their way to the temple, where a search of the grounds led to them discovering the Keystone to enter. Inside, it was revealed that they had found a "Key Temple" of the Mistontli. A strange apparition appeared before Jocelyn informing her that she was a Keyholder, that there are thirteen keys in total and that collecting these keys would "Save her people". Jocelyn was granted the title Lady of Gaia Empalis as the holder of it's key, a mark emblazoned upon the palm of her right hand. The party made their way to Novagorod, or Nova City, the home of the Commonwealth in the New World. From there they tried to collect information on what the temples were, only to discover that no-one else had been able to even enter one- although many had tried. They found out that the temples are the keys to the mythical Soul Forge, an artifact of great power left behind by the Mistontli the discovery of which is valued at 20,000 gold pieces for each person in the party. The party briefly met with the Hunter's Chance lodge in the city, but chose not to ally with them after Zander Foambeard challenged the Nomad to a duel to gain immediate acceptance and was unable to find her due to some form of invisibility. Deciding not to share what they knew or to join up with the Chance to work on discovering a lost temple, they instead met with a young Mage's Guild cartographer by the name of Althidion Liana, who hired them as bodyguards for his quest to find another of the thirteen lost temples. The party journeyed east with Althidion, along the way coming across a wagon that had been overturned, it seemed the travellers from within it had been abducted. After a fight with a Dire Troll and it's cronies the party continued towards Empalis proper, arriving near nightfall to discover strange robed figures sacrificing the travellers from the wagon in a disturbing ritual. At the center of this group was a pair of Mindflayers, who used this sacrifice to open the door to the temple and enter within it. The party were discovered by the cultists on guard duty, but were aided by a nearby group of Hunters, led by Vincent Baudeleire, the cheerful Lucien and a young lady known as Nomad. Vincent explained that they were looking for the victims of kidnappings and disappearances in the area. The group decided to take a rest before heading into the temple, during which Jocelyn used her abilities to spy inside and figure out the layout. After resting and preparing themselves, the party entered into the temple of Gaia Veralis. They bypassed traps and creatures that had taken up residence in the ancient halls to find their way through to the central area, where they found the cultists and the Mind Flayers commiting sacrifices in an attempt to retrieve the Temple's Key. Choosing not to hesitate, with their Hunter friends in tow, the party charged into battle. The battle led to many close encounters with death, with Lothar Von Hasselton nearly falling prey to the Mind Flayers, but before the flayer could end his life the party brought it down with a decisive strike. As the second Mind-Flayer approached the Key, Zander Foambeard charged it, hammer at the ready, and smashed the crystal to pieces. The energy of the crystal cut deep into his arm, branding his bicep with the Key of Veralis, designating him the Lord of Gaia Veralis. The party took out the second mind flayer, who was still reeling over this sudden loss, mopped up the remaining cultists and freed the remaining captives. They headed outside to camp for the night. The party investigated the bodies of the cultists, discovering that all the cultists had been carrying a symbol, and also discovered that several of the captives had been branded with the same symbol. After a brief medical checkover, Reyfina confirmed that the captives who had been branded had been infected with Illithid parasites, and would within the week become Mind Flayers themselves. Faced with this choice, they agreed to give the branded captives a swift death, most of whom accepted this. In the morning, the party continued their journey to the half-elf capital of the new world, Gaiapolis. Although they were to part ways with Vincent and the Hunters, they were given some advice- a secret bridge that the hunters had discovered, nestled in the mountain range, that would reduce their travel time by several days. The party won over the affections of Nomad, who agreed to help them as a guide to the Royaume city. They set off south-east, towards the bridge, but during a brief hunting excursion ran afoul of a mating-pair of Massive Toads. After the small battle, they returned to their journey, pressing further onwards into the Scarpath Mountains.